President Obama: Day One News Roundup
- On First Day, Obama Quickly Sets Tone – New York Times
- Obama halts prosecutions at Guantanamo – New York Times
- Oath administered once again – New York Times
- Clinton approved, Holder delayed – New York Times
- Obama: New era of openness – Washington Post
- Lobbying rules tightened – Washington Post
- Guantanamo closure faces hurdles – Washington Post
- Inauguration head count: 1.8 million – Washington Post
- Obama asks Pentagon for responsible Iraq drawdown – Associated Press
My Ideas for the Obama ‘Citizens’ Briefing Book’
One Way to Deal With Torture Legacy:
If the country were not facing such an historic economic crisis, perhaps I would be one of those angered by signals that neither the incoming Congress, nor the Obama Administration, seem to have the will to investigate and potentially hold accountable those who broke the law in the areas of interrogation, detention and rendition during the past administration.
Here’s an idea – a truth commission. What if the concept was based around answering the questions regarding the Constitution, the efficacy of torture, who was ultimately responsible, etc. This could be done in such a way as to put off any public hearings or transparency until after a bipartisan panel of serious legal, policy experts and just plain citizens had a chance to pursue the issues with subpoena power under a media blackout. Their product would be public. In some manner, either through the office of the President or the Congress an acknowledgement would be made and a strong statement, law or EO would be enacted to guide the government through these issues in the future. An acknowledgement could be made that any mistakes in judgement or action were the result of trying, out of the ordinary times (although this shouldn’t be an excuse).
Click this link to vote for this idea at change.gov
Initial Focus on the Bridge to Our Energy Future:
Our economy and society and is intertwined with petroleum – a single resource – that there is no single alternative on the horizon. Many speak of a Manhattan or Apollo project for energy independence, but this economic is much to complex to be solved in a timeframe akin to either of those two great American achievements.
Think of the bridge with its major parts, the spans. We can begin our Apollo-style project of basic research, advanced research, work on prototypes, testing, the development of economic models, etc. But at the same time, we can also build the bridge, span by span. One span may be the Pickens Plan, an effort that will attract private as well as government resources. Another span could be an aggressive tax credit program for making existing American homes energy efficient.
This also has the benefit of being a communications or message construct which will help educate America as to the pervasiveness of petroleum and the strategic disadvantage we are in due to our dependence on this diminishing, primarily foreign supplied resource.
Click this link to vote for this idea at change.gov
Bin Laden Could Be Thinking – ‘Mission Accomplished’
The Bush Administration official in charge of reviewing practices at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp has told the Washington Post that the U.S. tortured a Saudi national.
“We tortured [Mohammed al-]Qahtani,” said Susan J. Crawford, in her first interview since being named convening authority of military commissions by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in February 2007. “His treatment met the legal definition of torture. And that’s why I did not refer the case” for prosecution.
Crawford, a retired judge who served as general counsel for the Army during the Reagan administration and as Pentagon inspector general when Dick Cheney was secretary of defense, is the first senior Bush administration official responsible for reviewing practices at Guantanamo to publicly state that a detainee was tortured.
Earlier this week, an Obama transition official leaked that President-elect Barack Obama may issue an executive order to close the Guantanamo detention center. A day later, the Pentagon, oblivious to the signal sent by the Obama team trotted out numbers alleging as many as 61 former inmates at Guantanamo had “returned” to their terrorist ways.
President George W. Bush and V.P. DICK Cheney have spent the last three weeks on a farewell tour of sorts doing interviews on their eight years in office. Over the past five years, evidence has mounted that Bush Administration at the highest levels essentially sanctioned torture by CIA and military interrogators. In the face of that evidence, neither the president or vice-president have admitted mistakes in their prosecution of the war on terror. Today, a very credible member of their administration did so for them.
The Bushies are leaving office and trying their hardest to build a case for a positive legacy. What many around the world will remember is torture, black sites and renditions. In the wake of one of America’s most trying times – 9/11 – our leaders succumbed to their baser human instincts and turned their backs on the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution. They created a climate of fear rather than one of strength of purpose. They tore at the unique American fabric in ways we may not even yet realize. In some respects, Osama bin Laden must be thinking, “Mission Accomplished.”
Pentagon Roughs Up Obama
Here go the Washington games.
Yesterday, it became known that our President-elect may intend to issue an Executive Order during his first week in office which would order the closure of the Guantanamo Bay Military Prison. According to Reuters, this information comes from an Obama transition adviser. It’s a leak, pure and simple, but who knows if it was intentional.
What’s interesting is that the leak came on the same day after President George W. Bush was asked pointed questions about the degradation of America’s “moral standing” in the world during his administration.
Day Two
Today, another illuminating story from Reuters shines the light of political hardball played Washington-insider style. This dispatch details comments made by Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell regarding the numbers of former Guantanamo inmates who returned to their alleged terrorist ways:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon said on Tuesday that 61 former detainees from its military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, appear to have returned to terrorism since their release from custody.
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said 18 former detainees are confirmed and 43 suspected of “returning to the fight.”
He said the figures, updated at the end of December, showed a higher rate of recidivism than seen in a previous report showing 37 former detainees as active militants.
He provided no details about the detainees or their countries of origin.
“The overall known terrorist re-engagement rate has increased to 11 percent” from about 7 percent, Morrell said.
I guess you could call this the first Republican salvo in the war over who will become king of homeland security mountain. If Obama were President today, the Pentagon wouldn’t be releasing such information. It’s meant to have an effect.
The problem is, can we believe anything these guys say? They trot out the number “61,” yet there are only 18 they say are confirmed to have returned to the fight. What does the number of 43 suspected to have returned to terrorism mean? If we could prove they were terrorists in the first place, would they have been let go? There are other detainees at Guantanamo who are ready to repatriated but the U.S. cannot find a country willing to accept them. These 43 were obviously accepted somewhere.
These numbers mean nothing in the absence of information regarding specific detainees. This was raw politics. One might consider it somewhat un-patriotic. We have the guy who is almost president talking about a potential policy move. A mere hours later you have the Pentagon casting doubt on the policy with numbers seemingly pulled from the air.
Welcome to Washington Barack Obama. First order of business, fire Geoff Morrell. Second order of business, call Secretary Gates for a dress-down on whose in charge.
